Drawer stack



Nov. 12, 1963 G. NELSON ETAL 3,110,534

DRAWER smog Filed March 20, 1961 INVENTOR GEORGE NELSON dOH/V F. FILE ATT'ORNEYS United States Patent 6 3,110,534 DRAWER STACK George Nelson,New York, and John F. Pile, Brooklyn, N .Y., assignors to Herman Miller,line, Zeeland, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Mar. 20, 1961,Ser- No. 96,822 3 Claims. (Cl. 31233il) This invention relates to adrawer stack, and more particularly to a drawer stack which is versatilein assembly and adjustment.

There are presently many types of drawer stacks all of which present atleast one major problem. This problem is that of versatility. Whenpresent drawer frames are fixed in a given position in a stack, it isdifficult to alter their position without going through at least as muchwork as is required in the initial installation. In many instances it isdesirable to vertically adjust the drawer frames to accommodatedifferent sizes of drawers. Oftentirnes it is desirable to replace apair of shallow drawers with a single deep drawer, or to add or remove adrawer from an existing drawer stack.

The present invention solves this problem by providing a drawer stackwhich is constructed from uniform drawer frames which are verticallyadjustably mounted in a common support structure. The drawer frames areuniform, interchangeable, and do not require complicated instructionsfor assembly. They are detachably connected to the support structure soas to facilitate the addition or removal of a drawer. The means by whichthe drawer frames are detachably connected to the support structure arecontinuously adjustable throughout the extent of the support structure.The drawer frames are therefore readily adjustable vertically to adaptthem to various drawer sizes. The support structure may be utilized notonly for a single drawer stack but to form adjacent rows of drawerstacks.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a drawer stackhaving drawer supporting frames of uniform design.

Another object of this invention is to provide a drawer stack havingdrawer frames which can be adjusted readily to accommodate differentdrawer sizes.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a drawer stackhaving drawer frame members which may be readily installed or removed tofacilitate the addition, modification, or removal of a drawer fromthestack.

Another object of this invention is to provide a drawer stack havingdrawer frames which may be positioned at any point along the supportstructure.

It is also an object of this invention to provide drawer frames whichare designed to be interlocked with clips carried by the supportstructure to prevent tipping of the drawer frames.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a drawer stack whichconsists of a minimum number of component parts which are simple toconstruct so as to provide a competitive article of manufacture.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will becomemore apparent upon reading the specification in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the drawer stack structure including thesupport members;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the drawer stack;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drawer frame;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a spacer block utilized to space drawerframes;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along thesection lines V-V of FIGS. 1 and 6, and also showing a cover and holddown angle;

3,1 10,534 Patented Nov. 12, 1963 FIG. 6 is a rear elevational,fragmentary view showing a hold down angle associated with a drawercover.

Basically, this invention relates to a drawer stack which is ofversatile design. The drawer stack includes a series of drawersupporting frames which are detachably secured to spaced supportmembers. The drawer frames are U-shaped members having side rails andintegral end rails. Bracket arms fixed to the side rails have offsetwings which connect the drawer frames to the support members. Hooks areformed on the wings of the bracket arms to engage clips which areconnected to the support members. The clips are adjustable to any pointon the support member to allow positioning of the drawer frame at anypoint along the support structure. The bracket wings include abutmentsurfaces which engage the clips and maintain the drawer frames at anormal angle with respect to the support member. In one arrangement, anydrawer frame may be removed by merely unhooking it from the clipstructure from which his suspended. A drawer frame may be added to thesupport structure by merely hooking it onto clips newly positioned onthe support members. In another arrangement, the bracket wings arespaced by the clips which support the drawer frames. The bracket wingsare also interlocked with the clips which arrangement prevents tippingof the drawer frames.

The drawer stack assembly is designated generally as It The assemblyincludes clips 30, drawer support frames 45; bracket arms 40 and 50,support members or posts 15, spacers 55 and drawers 60.

Referring now more specifically to the details of the invention, FIG. 1best illustrates the support members or posts designated generally as15. The posts 15 are identical to those disclosed in applicantscopending application Serial No. 85,680, filed January 30, 1961, nowPatent No. 3,039,727, and entitled Bracket. However, the posts will bedescribed briefly herein to facilitate explanation of this invention.The post 15 is an elongated member which can be cut to various lengthsto suit the particular drawer installation. Each of the side faces ofthe post is provided with T-shaped slots 18 which open upon the ends ofthe post. Flanges 19* and 20 define the T-shaped slot 18.

The slot 18 receives a clip 30 which is also fully explained in theaforesaid application Serial No. 85,680. The clip 30 may be positionedat any point along the length of the post and fixed in the desiredposition by appropriate fastening means. Although the clip 30 is apreferred structure, it is to be understood that within the broadestaspects of the invention, other equivalent means might be utilized toadjustably support the drawer frames 45 now to be described.

Identical drawer frames 45, 45a, 45b and 45' are. shown in FIGS. 1 and2. Since each of these frame members are identical units, only thedrawer frame 45 will be explained in detail.

The drawer frame 45 is a U-shaped member having side rails 46 and 47formed integral with an end rail 48. The rails are generally rectangularin cross section as best illustrated in FIG. 3. a

Fixed to the side rail 46 by conventional means such as a weldment, is abracket arm 40. The bracket arm 40 is generally Z-shaped having a mainbody portion 41 which is connected to the side rail 46. The bracket arm40 has an offset wing portion 4 2 which is directed away from the siderail 46. A hook 43 is formed from the wing portion and assumes aposition parallel to the side rail 46 but spaced therefrom.

The hook portion 43 is cut away to form the abutment surface 44. Theabutment surface 44 is designed such that it abuts clip 30 (FIG. 5) tomaintain the drawer frame 45 at a right angle with respect to thesupport member when it abuts the clip as best shown in FIG. 5. Aninterlock notch 49 is formed on the top of the hook 43. This notchcooperates with clip '30 (PEG. 5) to prevent the back of frame 4-5 fromtipping upwardly.

The other side rail 47 is provided with a bracket arm 50 which is amirror image of the bracket arm 40. It has. a body portion 51 which isconnected to the side rail 47, and an offset portion 52 and a hookportion 53. An abutment surface 54 and interlock notch 59 are formed onthe hook portion 53. The hooks 43 and 53 engage the clips 30' and 30,respectively, as 'best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, and thereby suspendthe drawer frame '45 from the support members 15 and 15'.

Spacer members in the form of rectangular blocks 55 (FIGS. 2 and 4) maybe utilized to accurately space the drawer frames 45. The spacer 55 hasan aperture 56 which receives a fastener. It may be secured to the post15- (FIG. 2) by a conventional threaded fastener (not shown). Use of thespacers 55 is unnecessary when the drawer frames are so spaced that thebase plate of each clip 50 engages the interlock notch 49 of the bracket40 of the drawer frame below it; however, in certain installations wherethe drawer frames are to be spaced further apart, they facilitateassembly by quickly and accurately spacing and positioning the drawerframes 45. When the spacers 55 are fastened to the post 15 and the siderails of the drawer frames rest against the ends of the spacers, thespacers also operate as support structure and prevent the drawers fromtilting. Thus, if the drawers are to carry extremely heavy articles, thespacers 55 will provide additional support for the drawer frames 45.

The drawer frames may also be spaced by the clips 30 as shown in FIG. 5.With this arrangement the firs-t or lowest clip 30 is secured to thepost 15 in the desired position. A drawer frame 45 is hooked intoposition and another clip 30 placed against the interlock notch formedon the hook of the bracket arm. Another drawer frame 45 is then hookedin position. This procedure is continued until the desired number ofdrawer frames are installed.

FIG. 2 shows drawers 60, 60a and 6012 being supported by the drawerframes 45, 45a and. 45b respectively. The drawers are of conventionaldesign and have slots or grooves cut in the side panel thereof toslidably receive the side rails 46 and 47. These grooves have a depth ofapproximately one-half the thickness of the drawer side panel. The endrail 48 acts as a back-stop for the drawer. Thus, when the drawer ismoved to the closed position its degree of closing movement is limitedby the end rail 48'.

It is also desirable to cover the top drawer when the stack iscompleted. This is done by hooking a bracket arm 70 and cover 71, whichis similar in design to the bracket arm and shelf shown in copendingapplication Serial No. 85,680 over clip 30 which has been placed abovethe uppermost drawer frame 45.

Hold down angles 75, one of which is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, areconnected between the cover "71. and the fastener, which connect clip36" to the posts 15 and 15. The hold down angle 75 has ears 76 and 77which are twisted and bent so as to lie fiat against the bottom of cover71 and the base plate of clip 30. The car 76 has an aperture whichreceives a fastener for connecting it to the cover 71. The ear 77 alsohas an aperture which receives the fastener which in this instanceconnects both the car 77 and the clip 30 to the post. The hold downbrackets 75 prevent the cover 71 from tripping when pres sure is appliedto the front edge thereof.

Assembly To construct the drawer stack 10, it is first necessary toanchor the posts 15 and 15'. If several rows of drawers are to beinstalled, it is necessary to anchor several more posts similar to 15and 15'. The posts 15 and 15 are so spaced apart that the clearancebetween them is equal to the distance between the outside surfaces ofside rails 46 and '47 of a frame 4-5.

If spacers 55 are to be utilized the two initial ones are next securedto the posts 15 and 15 by conventional fasteners. They are positioneddirectly opposite each other.

Spring clips 30 and 3d are then fastened to the posts -15 and 15 in amanner similar to that described in the aforesaid application Serial No.85,680. If other means equivalent to the clip 36 are to be utilized,they are likewise fastened in position at this time.

The drawer frame 45 is next positioned between the posts 15 and 15', andhooks 53 and 43 passed through the slot openings and hooked over theclips 30 and 30'. The drawer frame 45 is then rotated until the abutmentsurfaces 44 and 54 abut the clips 30 and 30 in a manner similar to thatshown in FIG. 5. The drawer frame 45 is now fully installed and ready toreceive the drawer 60.

The drawer frames 45a and 45b are assembled with the support members 15and in a similar manner. The spacing between the drawer frames 45 and45a is the same as that between the drawer frames 45a and 4512. However,in the illustrated embodiment, the drawer frame 4515 supports a drawer6012 which is twice as deep as the drawers 6'0 and Mia. 1f the slots inthe sides of a replacement drawer for drawer 6017 were centrallylocated, it would be a simple matter to lower the drawer frame 45 toaccommodate it by lowering the clips which support the drawer frame. Itcan also be seen that it would be a simple matter to remove the drawer60 completely by merely withdrawing the drawer and unhooking the drawerframe 45. An additional drawer could be added above or below the stackshown in FIG. 2 by pro viding the posts 15 and 15' with additional,properly posi tioned clips and hooking a new drawer frame 45 to them.

FfG. 1 shows that several drawer stack assemblies 14) can also beutilized to form rows of drawer stacks. The post 15' and clip 36 supportboth the bracket arm 40 of drawer frame 45 and the bracket arm 50 of anadjacent drawer frame 45'. The side rail 46 of drawer frame 45' issupported by another post (not shown) properly anchored in alignmentwith the post 15'. If, for example, drawers of a depth of 3 /2 inchesare to be used in the stack, the clips 30 operates as spacers. In thisarrangement a pair of clips 30 are connected to the posts in the desiredposition and the first drawer frame hooked in position. Another pair ofclips 30 are placed directly on the interlock notches of the drawerframe and operate as spacers for the next drawer frame which isconnected thereto. This arrangement continues for the entire drawerstack. With this arrangement the drawer frames 45 are interlocked withthe clips 30. The engagement of the abutment surfaces 44, 54 of thebracket arms with the clips 30 prevents movement of the drawer frame inthe clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 5, and the engagement of theinterlock notches 49, 59 with the base plates of the clips 3t) preventsmovement of the drawer frame in a counterclockwise direction. With thisarrangement it is necessary to start from either the top or bottom ofthe stack and remove overlying or underlying drawer frames to remove acentrally located drawer frame due to the interlocking arrangement.However, this merely requires loosening and raising or lowering but notremoving the clips 30.

The cover 71 is connected to the stack in the manner previouslydescribed.

From the above description it can be seen that the drawer stack assemblydisclosed herein is composed of a minimum number of simply designedcomponent parts which can be manufactured economically. The drawer stackis extremely versatile in that the drawer frames which support thedrawers may be readily adjusted to the proper position. Any drawer framemay be removed or added without allecting the other drawers. Also, twoshallow drawers may be removed and replaced by a single deep drawerwithout otherwise disturbing the drawer stack. The drawer frames andposts may be assembled to form not only single drawer stacks butintegral rows of drawer stacks.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been described, itwill be understood that modifications and improvements may be madethereto Such of these modifications and improvements as incorporate theprinciples of this invention are to be considered as included in thehereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their languageexpressly state otherwise.

We claim:

1. A drawer stack assembly comprising: longitudinally slotted postmeans; U-shaped support frames having side rails and integral end rails;clip means lidable in the slots of said posts for free positioning alongsaid posts; brackets connected to said side rails and having hooks fordetachably engaging said clip means; spacer means for exactlydetermining the distance between said support frames; said supportframes being arranged to slidabiy receive drawers; said side railssupporting said drawers and said end rails acting as stops.

2. A drawer stack assembly comprising: a support structure having spacedsupport members; U-shaped drawer frames having side rails and end railsformed integral therewith; a single bracket means fixed to each of saidside rails intermediate the ends thereof, said bracket means forming thesole support of said drawer frames; said drawer frames fitting betweensaid spaced a support members; said brackets detachably engaging supportmeans on said spaced support members; portions of adjacent ones of saidsupport means engaging interlock notches formed on said brackets toprevent rearward tipping of said drawer frames.

3. A drawer stack assembly comprising: post means; U-shaped supportframes having side rails and integral end rails; cover means forcovering said drawer stack; brackets connected to said side rails andhaving hooks for detachably engaging hook receiving elements removablyfastened to said posts and adiustably vertically positionabletherealong; said support frames being adjustable to any point along saidpost to receive and position various sized drawers; and hold-down meansconnected to a cover and to said hook receiving element associated withsaid cover to keep said cover from tipping.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS891,968 Allen June 30, 1908 945,280 Lindberg Ian. 4, 1910 953,205 HughesMar. 29, 1910 984,857 Schuftan Feb. 21, 1911 1,664,130 as Mar. 27, 19282,247,436 Erickson "July 1, 1941 2,292,865 Boddy Aug. 11, 1942 2,519,623Baker Aug. 22, 1950 2,572,081 Wallance Oct. 23, 1951 2,809,886 Pall Oct.8, 1957 2,872,048 Cooper Feb. 3, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 186,221Switzerland 1936

2. A DRAWER STACK ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: A SUPPORT STRUCTURE HAVING SPACED SUPPORT MEMBERS; U-SHAPED DRAWER FRAMES HAVING SIDE RAILS AND END RAILS FORMED INTEGRAL THEREWITH; A SINGLE BRACKET MEANS FIXED TO EACH OF SAID SIDE RAILS INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF, SAID BRACKET MEANS FORMING THE SOLE SUPPORT OF SAID DRAWER FRAMES; SAID DRAWER FRAMES FITTING BETWEEN SAID SPACED SUPPORT MEMBERS; SAID BRACKETS DETACHABLY ENGAGING SUPPORT MEANS ON SAID SPACED SUPPORT MEMBERS; PORTIONS OF ADJACENT ONES OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS ENGAGING INTERLOCK NOTCHES FORMED ON SAID BRACKETS TO PREVENT REARWARD TIPPING OF SAID DRAWER FRAMES. 